Central Asian countries agree to strengthen counter-narcotics efforts

A member of the newly trained Afghan National Police (ANP) patrols through a poppy field in Mian Poshteh

Afghanistan and its neighbors on Wednesday pledged to better their counter-narcotics efforts to stabilize the region.

The regional programme was launched by the UN Office of Drugs and Crime (UNODC) just days after the international community met in Bonn to decide on future support for Afghanistan, after foreign troops leave in 2014.

The UN is expected to take on more responsibilities in supporting Afghanistan as troops gradually begin to withdraw.

Over the past five years, the country has produced some 90 per cent of the world’s illicit opium